Information transmission/reception system for transmitting information to requesters, where it is recorded, in response to a plurality of requests

ABSTRACT

When a transmission request reception process controller accepts a request to transmit information, the information is read from a memory in order of addresses generated by an address generator. A transmission information generator adds addresses of the information to the read information, for transmission to the transmission requester. When accepting another request to transmit the same information while the information is being transmitted, the transmission request reception process controller causes the information to be transmitted to the latter transmission requester starting at the current point in the information being transmitted to the former transmission requester. After generating the last address of information, the address generator returns to the top address and again continues generating the addresses of the information. The information read from the memory according to the generated addresses is transmitted from output circuits 14 and 16. Each receiving party (information transmission requester) receives the transferred information and records it on record media thereof based on the addresses added to the information.

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.08/297,492, filed on Aug. 29, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,220.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to an information transmission system whichtransmits information, such as image information or audio informationrecorded as a cluster of information blocks, in response to informationtransmission requests from a large number of external machines. Theinvention also relates to information recording system of the externalmachines for recording the received information, and in particularrelates to an information transmission system appropriate for shorteningthe time required from the issuing of a transmission request to theinformation transmission end to the transmitting of the information inresponse to information transmission requests, these requests comingfrom different external machines, and occurring at the same time, andfrom information recording devices associated with the informationtransmission system.

2. Description of the Related Art

Devices that can transmit information such as picture information andaudio information include video tape recorders (VTRs), optical diskunits, magnetic disk units, semiconductor memories, etc. The related artof these storage devices is described in IC Memory Card GuidelinesVer.4.1 (1991.9) published by Nihon Densikikaikogyo Shinko Kyokai andHome VTR Nyumon (or Introduction to Home VTR) (1971.10), published byCorona. With the storage devices in the related art, information can bewritten onto storage media and the written information can be read andtransmitted externally. Likewise, at the receiving parties, the devicesfor recording the received information include video tape recorders(VTRs), optical disk units, magnetic disk units, semiconductor memories,etc. In the information recording devices, an area in which informationcan be recorded is reserved corresponding to the received informationamount and the information is sequentially recorded starting at thebeginning of the area.

By the way, it is anticipated that a system which holds information suchas picture information, music information, and game software informationas a database, and transmits necessary information to a plurality ofexternal machines will come into demand, with high speed operation andlarge capacity of information transmission networks. Such a system,which transmits information, such as picture information, musicinformation, and game software information to a plurality of externalmachines, requires a reception circuit for receiving informationtransmission requests from the external machines and a plurality oftransmission circuits. Further, when a large number of informationtransmission requests occur for the same information at the same time,serial operation, in which information transmission responsive to thefirst transmission request is completed and then information istransmitted in response to the second transmission request, would meanthat each external machine (the user of the external machine) has towait for the length of time between the instant at which an informationtransmission request is issued and the instant at which informationtransmission is started. This wait time depends on the number ofmachines requesting information transmission, and so it is impossible toschedule the time interval. This problem becomes remarkable,particularly when transmission of picture information of a movie or thelike, having an enormous information amount, is requested.

However, the storage devices do not generally comprise a plurality ofreception circuits or a plurality of transmission circuits, and theircontrol method is not explicit. Particularly, if a second informationtransmission request occurs while video information or audio informationis being reproduced in response to a first information transmissionrequest, the function of receiving the second request is not provided.Even if the storage devices have the capability of receiving a pluralityof information transmission requests, when a second informationtransmission request occurs while information is being sent (videoinformation or audio information is being reproduced) in response to afirst information transmission request, it is considered thatinformation transmission processing is performed in sequence in such amanner that information transmission responsive to the firsttransmission request is completed and then information is transmitted inresponse to the second transmission request. The information is alwayssent starting at the beginning, and not at an intermediate point of theinformation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an informationtransmission/reception system which can receive a plurality oftransmission requests and transmit information to the requesters so thatit can br recorded by at the requesters, and an information transmissionmethod.

It is another object of the invention to provide an informationtransmission apparatus and information reception apparatuses in theinformation transmission/reception system.

To these ends, according to the invention, there is provided aninformation transmission/reception system comprising an informationtransmission apparatus for transmitting information and a plurality ofinformation reception apparatuses for receiving information. Theinformation transmission apparatus comprises record media for recordingthe information; read means for reading the information recorded on therecord media; address management means for specifying addresses of theinformation to be read by the read means; a plurality of reception meansfor receiving requests for transmission of the information recorded onthe record media; generation means for generating transmissioninformation by adding address information corresponding to the addressesspecified by the address management means to the information read fromthe record media by the read means; a plurality of transmission meansfor sequentially transmitting the transmission information to which theaddress information is added by the generation means; and control meansfor controlling transmission of the information from the plurality oftransmission means in accordance with reception of transmission requestsat the plurality of reception means. Each of the information receptionapparatuses comprises; transmission means for transmitting a request totransmit the information recorded on the record media to the informationtransmission apparatus; reception means for receiving the transmissioninformation transmitted from the transmission means of the informationtransmission apparatus; record media for recording the transmissioninformation received at the reception means of the information receptionapparatus; and registering means for registering the transmissioninformation received at the reception means of the information receptionapparatus on the record media based on the address information added tothe transmission information.

The address management means can comprise address generation means forsequentially generating the addresses in such a manner that itsequentially generates from a top address to an end address of theinformation, and then returns to the top address for again generatingthe addresses sequentially until an instruction for terminating thespecification of the addresses is issued. It can also comprise aregister, so that while the information is being transmitted to a firstone of the information reception apparatuses through the firsttransmission means of the plurality of transmission means, upon receiptof a request to transmit the same information from a second one of theinformation reception apparatuses, a transmission start address of theinformation transmitted to the second information reception apparatus isheld, and comparison means for comparing each address of the informationread by the read means with the address held in the register, fordetecting a match therebetween, so that while the information is beingtransmitted to the first information reception apparatus through thefirst transmission means, upon receipt of a request to transmit the sameinformation from the second information reception apparatus, the controlmeans of the information transmission apparatus controls the secondtransmission means so as to transmit the information to the secondinformation reception apparatus starting at the current point at whichthe information is being transmitted to the first information receptionapparatus through the first transmission means, and when the comparisonmeans detects a match between the addresses, the control means canterminate the transmission of the information to the second informationreception apparatus.

The control means of the information reception apparatus may have adetection means for detecting the reception termination of theinformation, based on the address information. Upon detection of thereception termination of the information, the transmission means of theinformation reception apparatus may send a notification of theinformation reception termination to the information transmissionapparatus.

Upon receipt of the notification of the information receptiontermination from the transmission means of the information receptionapparatus, the control means of the information transmission apparatusmay terminate transmission of the information.

The generation means can divide information read by the read means intoblocks of a predetermined length and add a block address to eachinformation block as address information.

The generation means can further generate a total information amount ofinformation read by the read means as transmission information data, andthe detection means of the information reception apparatus can detectthe reception termination of the information based on the totalinformation amount instead of the address information.

The information transmission apparatus can further include a pluralityof transmission information data generation means, each for generatingat least one entry of predetermined identification information of theinformation transmission apparatus, an information name and informationamount read by the read means, and a synchronous signal as transmissioninformation data, the plurality of transmission information datageneration means corresponding to the plurality of transmission means ona one-to-one basis.

According to the invention, there is provided an informationtransmission apparatus comprising record media for recording theinformation; read means for sequentially reading the informationrecorded on the record media; address management means for specifyingaddresses of the information read by the read means; a plurality ofreception means for receiving requests for transmission of informationrecorded on the record media; generation means for generatingtransmission information by adding address information corresponding tothe addresses managed by the address management means to the informationread from the record media by the read means; a plurality oftransmission means for sequentially transmitting the transmissioninformation to which the address information is added by the generationmeans; and control means for controlling transmission of the informationfrom the plurality of transmission means in accordance with reception oftransmission requests at the plurality of reception means. The addressmanagement means can comprise address generation means for sequentiallygenerating the addresses in such a manner that it sequentially generatesfrom a top address to an end address of the information, and thenreturns to the top address for again generating the addressessequentially until an instruction for terminating the specification ofthe addresses is issued. The address management means can furthercomprise a register which, while the information is being transmittedthrough a first transmission means of the plurality of transmissionmeans, and upon receipt of a request to transmit the same information,holds the transmission start address of the information transmittedthrough a second transmission means of the plurality of transmission,and comparison means for comparing each address of the information readby the read means with the address held in the register for detecting amatch therebetween. While the information is being transmitted throughthe first transmission means, upon receipt of a request to transmit thesame information, the control means can control the second transmissionmeans so as to transmit the information starting at the current point inthe information being transmitted through the first transmission means,and when the comparison means detects a match between the addresses, thecontrol means can instruct the address generation means to terminategeneration of the address for terminating the transmission of theinformation through the second transmission means.

According to the invention, there is provided an information receptionapparatus comprising transmission means for transmitting an informationtransmission request to an information transmission apparatus whichtransmits information to which address information is added; receptionmeans for receiving the transmission information transmitted from theinformation transmission apparatus received at the reception means ofthe information reception apparatuses; record media for recording thetransmission information; and registration means for registering thetransmission information received at the reception means on the recordmedia based on the address information added to the transmissioninformation. The information reception apparatus may further comprisesdetection means for detecting the reception termination of theinformation based on the address information, and upon detection of thereception termination of the information, the transmission means sends anotification of the information reception termination to the partytransmitting information.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided, in aninformation transmission apparatus which has record media for recordinginformation, accepts an information transmission request, and sendsinformation, a method of transmitting information comprising the stepsof accepting a first request to transmit the information; readinginformation from the record media in an address order; generatingtransmission information by adding address information corresponding toaddresses of the read information to the read information; transmittingthe transmission information which has been added to the addressinformation to the first information transmission requester;transmitting the information to the second transmission requesterstarting at the current address of the information being transmitted tothe first transmission requester, upon acceptance of a second request totransmit the same information while the information is beingtransmitted; returning to a top address after transmitting theinformation up to an end address of the information; and continuing thetransmission of the information.

The information transmission apparatus receives information transmissionrequests at a plurality of reception means. The address management meansspecifies the addresses of the information to be read for the readmeans, and the read means reads the information recorded on the recordmedia according to the addresses. The generation means adds addressinformation corresponding to the addresses specified by the addressmanagement means to the information read by the read means forgenerating transmission information. The control means is responsive toreception of transmission requests at a plurality of reception means forcontrolling transmission of the information from the plurality oftransmission means. A plurality of transmission means sequentiallytransmit the transmission information, to which the address informationis added by the generation means. Thus, an informationtransmission/reception system which can receive a plurality oftransmission requests and transmit information to the requesters so thatit can be recorded at the requesting end, can be provided.

When the address management means comprises the address generationmeans, the register, and the comparison means, the address generationmeans sequentially generates the addresses in such a manner that itsequentially generates from a top address to an end address of theinformation and then returns to the top address for again generating theaddresses sequentially until an instruction for terminating thespecification of the addresses is issued. While the information is beingtransmitted to a first one of the information reception apparatusesthrough the first transmission means, upon receipt of a request fortransmitting the same information from a second one of the informationreception apparatuses, the register holds the transmission start addressof the information transmitted to the second information receptionapparatus. The comparison means compares each address of the informationread by the read means with the address held in the register, fordetecting a match therebetween. While the information is beingtransmitted to the first information reception apparatus through thefirst transmission means, upon receipt of a request for transmitting thesame information from the second information reception apparatus, thecontrol means of the information transmission apparatus controls thesecond transmission means for transmitting the information to the secondinformation reception apparatus, starting at the current point in theinformation being transmitted to the first information receptionapparatus through the first transmission means, and when the comparisonmeans detects a match between the addresses, the control means instructsthe address generation means to terminate of generating the address forterminating the transmission of the information to the secondinformation reception apparatus.

When receiving a second information transmission request whiletransmitting information in response to a first information transmissionrequest, the information transmission apparatus of the invention alsotransmits the information being transmitted in response to the firsttransmission request to the second transmission requester. For example,when a one-third portion of movie information has been transmitted, if asecond information transmission request is received, the sameinformation as the information portion after the one-third portion ofthe movie information transmitted to the first information requester, isalso sent to the second information requester. After the remaining(two-thirds) portion of the movie information has been sent to the firstand second information requesters, the beginning one-third portion ofthe movie information is transmitted only to the second informationrequester.

Here, the information is transmitted together with the total informationamount and addresses. In this example, information transmission inresponse to two information transmission requests has been discussed,but similar operation is performed when three or more requests arereceived. That is, if another information transmission request isreceived while information is being transmitted, the information beingtransmitted is also transmitted to the information transmissionrequester without waiting for the current information transmission to becompleted.

Thus, the time required from issuing an information transmission requestto completion of information reception depends substantially on theinformation transmission amount and does not depend on the number ofmachines making information transmission requests.

On the other hand, the information reception apparatus reserves a recordarea based on the received data indicating the total information amount,and starts recording the information at the corresponding location inthe reserved record area according to the received address information.That is, after the record area is reserved, recording of the informationis started at an intermediate location in the record area correspondingto the transmission start address. After this, the information isrecorded up to the last address according to the received addressinformation, then a return is made to the first address of theinformation and the information recording is continued to the addresspreceding the transmission start address, thereby completing therecording of the information in the total information amount. Thus, thetime required from issuing an information transmission request tocompletion of information reception depends on the total informationamount, and if the user waits for a given time determined by the totalinformation amount, he or she can be assured of receiving the requestedinformation, and can enjoy remarkably improved operability.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of an informationtransmission apparatus of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an illustration showing the format of data and informationsent from the information transmission apparatus of the invention shownin FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an illustration showing the operation of an informationtransmission/reception system of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of one embodiment of an information receptionapparatus of the invention;

FIG. 5 is an illustration of the information reception apparatus of theinvention in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of an informationtransmission apparatus of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a third embodiment of an informationtransmission apparatus of the invention;

FIG. 8 is an illustration showing the format of data sent from theinformation reception apparatus of the invention;

FIG. 9 is an illustration of the block configuration of a memory;

FIG. 10 is a holding table in a transmission start data generator;

FIG. 11 is an illustration showing the storage contents of an addressmemory register;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an information and data insertion and gatecircuit; and

FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram representing a flow of the operation ofthe information transmission apparatus of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, there are shown preferredembodiments of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of an informationtransmission apparatus 100 for practicing the invention. In theembodiment, when receiving an information transmission request from aninformation reception apparatus of a first external machine, theinformation transmission apparatus reads information in block units fromstorage media and transmits the information with the block address ofthe information to the first external machine. When receiving anotherinformation transmission request from a second external machine whiletransmitting the information to the first external machine, theinformation transmission apparatus also transmits the currentinformation being transmitted to the first external machine to thesecond external machine. At that time, the information transmissionapparatus holds the transmission start address of the informationtransmitted to the second external machine. Then, when reading theinformation at the last address, the information transmission apparatusreturns to the first address of the information and continues to readthe information up to the address at which the information transmissionto the second external machine was started. On the other hand, theexternal machine records the received information based on the addressesadded to the information. By monitoring the addresses when all of acluster of information blocks has ben received, the external machine isable to send a notification of the reception termination to theinformation transmission apparatus and therefore terminates thereception.

The information transmission apparatus will be discussed in detail withreference to FIG. 1.

In FIG. 1, numeral 1 is a memory which stores a cluster of informationsuch as picture information or audio information. Numeral 120 is aninformation input section for inputting information to be stored in thememory 1. Numeral 2 is an address generator which generates addressesfor reading and writing information from and into the memory 1. Theaddress generator 2 generates addresses sequentially. When generatingthe last address of the information stored in the memory 1, the addressgenerator 2 again generates the first address, the second address, andso forth. The last address is held in the address generator 2 wheninformation is recorded in the memory 1. Numeral 3 is an address storingmemory which stores an address generated by the address generator 2based on an output signal from an information read controller 5. Thestore contents of the memory 3 are updated each time an informationtransmission request is received. Numeral 4 is a match detector fordetecting a match between the address stored in the address storingmemory 3 and the address output by the address generator 2. Thefunctions of the address generator 2, the address storing memory 3, andthe match detector 4 may be combined to form an address managementsection 110 for managing addresses. The information read controller 5controls the operation of the address generator 2 and the operation ofthe address storing memory 3. Numeral 6 is a transmission informationgenerator which divides information sequentially read from the memory 1into information blocks of a predetermined length, generatestransmission information to which a block address and error correctioncode are added for each information block, and when outputting thegenerated block information to a parallel-serial converter (P-Sconverter) 7, sends a block information output timing signal to atransmission controller 8 for indicating the block information outputtiming. The P-S converter 7 converts parallel information into serialinformation. The transmission controller 8 controls information and datainsertion and gate circuits 11 to 13 for addition of a transmissionstart signal when information is transmitted, information transmissiontiming, information transmission termination, etc. The transmissioncontroller 8 has storage means for storing a transmission requester andtransmission information name when a transmission request signal isreceived. Numeral 9 is a transmission request reception processcontroller which receives information transmission requests issued froma plurality of external machines through reception circuits 15, 17, and19 and outputs information transmission request signals to thetransmission controller 8. Numeral 10 is a transmission start datagenerator which holds a transmission start signal and transmissioninformation data such as total information amount data added wheninformation is transmitted, and generates them in response to aninformation transmission request output signal from the transmissioncontroller 8. The information and data insertion and gate circuits 11 to13 are provided for transmitting information to the external machines inresponse to an output signal of the transmission controller 8. Numerals14, 16, and 18 are output circuits for outputting information to theexternal machines. The reception circuits 15, 17, and 19 receiveinformation transmission requests issued from the external machines. Theoutput circuits and reception circuits can be connected to communicationlines such as telephone lines or ISDN lines and provided with a modemfunction of modulating information for transmission and demodulatingreceived signals. Numerals 20, 21, and 22 are external machines A, B,and C each comprising a video tape recorder (VTR) such as an informationdecoder installed in each home, an optical disk unit, a magnetic diskunit, a semiconductor memory, or the like provided with communicationmeans, as described below with reference to FIG. 4. Numerals 23 and 24are exchanges for exchanging information based on destinationinformation. Numeral 25 is a transmission line connecting the exchanges.

Next, one example of an information storage system of the externalmachine described above for storing received information from theinformation transmission apparatus will be discussed with reference toFIG. 4, which is a block diagram showing one example of the informationstorage system using a magneto-optic recorder.

In FIG. 4, numeral 26 is a magnetic head and numeral 27 is an opticalpickup controller which controls an optical pickup. Numeral 28 is anaddress generator which generates addresses for storing or readinginformation. Numeral 29 is a received information reproducer whichreproduces received information and carries out an error correctionaccording to parity. Numeral 30 is a buffer circuit for storing receivedinformation. Numeral 31 is an information transmission request signalgenerator which generates an information transmission request signal, asinstructed. Numeral 32 is a record information generator which convertsreceived information into signal form for storing on magneto-opticmedia. Numeral 33 is a data detector which detects transmissioninformation data such as the transmission information amount andtransmission start address, from the received information. Numeral 34 isan information reproducer which reproduces information from signals readfrom magneto-optic media. Numeral 35 is a free area retrieval circuitfor retrieving a free area to record received information. Numeral 36 isa record controller which controls the address generator 28 based onoutput information from the data detector 33 and output information fromthe free area retrieval circuit 35 and the information transmissionrequest signal generator 31 based on an information transmission requestinput through an input terminal 44. Numeral 37 is a reception inputterminal of transferred information and numeral 38 is an informationtransmission request signal output terminal. The terminals 37 and 38 areconnected to the transmission line 25. Numeral 39 is a decoder whichdecodes information reproduced by the information reproducer 34 intovideo signals, audio signals, game signals, etc. Numeral 40 is a videosignal display, numeral 41 is magneto-optic media, numeral 42 is amotor, and numeral 43 is an optical pickup. Numeral 44 is an informationtransmission request input terminal for receiving an informationtransmission request from the user. Numeral 45 is a digital outputterminal of the decoder 39 and numeral 46 is a magnetic head controllerwhich controls the position of the magnetic head 26.

At the external machine, the record controller 36 interprets aninformation transmission request input through the input terminal 44 andoutputs it to the information transmission request signal generator 31,which then generates an information transmission request signal based onthe output of the record controller 36 and transmits it through theoutput terminal 38. The information transmission request signal consistsof an information signal of the transmission request information number,information reception party, payment method, etc.

FIG. 8 shows the data format in which a transmission request orreception termination notification is sent from the external machine tothe information transmission apparatus. FIG. 2 shows the format ofinformation and data sent from the transmission apparatus to theexternal system.

In FIG. 8, a transmission signal 810 from the external machine comprisesa clock run-in 801 containing timing information for clock reproductionat the receiving party, an ID 802 indicating predeterminedidentification information of the transmitting external machine, requestcontents 803 indicating the transmission request contents, a receptiontermination bit 804 indicating the reception termination, requesterrecorder information 805 indicating the type of requesting externalmachine, a payment method 806 indicating the payment method forinformation to be received, and a reserved area 807. If the informationtransmission apparatus 100 stores different entries of information,identification information corresponding to the entry can be specifiedin the request contents 803. For example, the type, such as a VTR or anoptical disk unit, can be specified in the requester recorderinformation 805. Information indicating a predetermined payment method,such as a credit card or cash, can be set in the payment method 806. Tomake a transmission request, the external machine sets the data fieldsother than the reception termination bit 804 for transmission. At thetermination of information reception from the information transmissionapparatus 100, the external machine sets the clock run-in 801, the ID802, and the reception termination bit 803 and sends them to theinformation transmission apparatus 100.

As shown in FIG. 2, a transmission signal 220 from the informationtransmission apparatus 100 comprises transmission start signal andtransmission information data 210 and an information section 211. Thetransmission start signal and transmission information data 210comprises a clock run-in 201 containing timing information for clockreproduction at the receiving party, a synchronous signal 202 containingheader information indicating the beginning of signal, a transmissioninformation name 203 indicating the name of information to betransmitted, a transmission information amount 204 indicating the amountof information to be transmitted, a transmitting party ID 205 indicatingpredetermined identification information of the transmitting party, andparity 206 to enable an error check. If different kinds of informationare available, information indicating the kind, for example, a moviename for movie information, can be specified in the transmissioninformation name 203. The external machine at the receiving party holdsthe transmission information amount 204, and when the receivedinformation amount matches the transmission information amount 204, itcan send the reception termination bit to the information transmissionapparatus 100 by assuming that all information has been received. Ifinformation is divided into blocks of a predetermined informationlength, synchronous signal 202, block address 207, information 208, andparity 206 are transmitted for each block as the information section211. The length of the clock run-in 201 may be made variable. This isused to adjust the information output timing.

The memory 1 stores a cluster of picture information such as a movie, acluster of audio information such as popular or classic music, or gamesoftware. The information transmission apparatus 100 transmits thestored information in response to an information transmission requestissued from an information decoder of an external machine A 20, B 21, C22, etc., installed in each home. The information decoder stores thereceived information, then restores it to a movie or music for output,or performs processing for the user to play a game.

Next, the block configuration of the contents recorded in the memory 1will be discussed with reference to FIG. 9. As shown here, informationhaving any information amount is previously recorded in the memory 1 viathe information input section 120. Here, how information A andinformation B are recorded is shown. Assume that the information amountof information A is A1 to AN (each of A1-AN denotes an address of 16-bitinformation, which is an access unit to the memory 1, whereN=268,000,000). Here, assuming that the block length is 65,536 bits(4096×16 bits), A1 to AM (M=4096) make up one block. In this case,information A is divided into 65536 (FFFF (hexadecimal representation))blocks. The information names and information amounts concerning thecontents recorded in the memory 1 are previously held in thetransmission start data generator 10. The transmission start datagenerator 10 has a table as shown in FIG. 10 for holding the informationnames and amounts of the information. The top addresses of theinformation are held (not shown) in the transmission request receptionprocess controller 9. The top addresses may be held in the holding tableof the transmission start data generator 10 for the transmission requestreception process controller 9 to look up the top address in the tablewhen necessary.

Next, the operation of the information transmission apparatus 100 whenthe external machine A 20 outputs an information transmission requestsignal will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 13. Forsimplicity, the embodiment assumes that the memory 1 stores one entry ofinformation. An example of storing different entries of information inthe memory 1 will be discussed below. FIG. 13 shows a conceptual diagramrepresenting a time flow of the control operations among the blocks ofthe information transmission apparatus 100 when the external machine A20 outputs an information transmission request signal.

When the external machine A 20 outputs an information transmissionrequest signal 901, the signal 901 is sent via the exchange 24, thetransmission line 25, and the exchange 23 to the informationtransmission apparatus 100 and is received by the reception circuit 15,which then outputs the signal 902 to the transmission request receptionprocess controller 9, which then detects an information transmissionrequest being issued from the external machine A 20 from the requesterID contained in the signal and outputs a detection result 903,indicating reception of the information transmission request from theexternal machine A 20, to the transmission controller 8.

The transmission controller 8 stores the detection result 903 of thetransmission request reception process controller 9 in the storagemeans, and also outputs a control signal (transmission instruction) 909for starting information transmission to the external machine A 20 tothe information and data insertion and gate circuit 11 based on thedetection result of the transmission request reception processcontroller 9 and a block information output timing signal of thetransmission information generator 6, thereby controlling theinformation and data insertion and gate circuit 11. Further, thetransmission controller 8 outputs an information transmission requestoutput signal 904, indicating information transmission requestreception, to the information read controller 5 and sending indicationsignal 906 to the transmission start data generator 10. When receivingthe information transmission request output signal from the transmissioncontroller 8, the transmission start data generator 10 reads and outputsthe transmission start signal and transmission information data 210, asshown in FIG. 2, from the holding table. The clock run-in 201, thesynchronous signal 202, and the transmitting party ID 205 are providedas a predetermined pattern of data held, or are prepared each time. Asshown in FIG. 2, data items such as the clock run-in for clockreproduction at the receiving party, the transmission information name,the total transmission information amount, and the informationtransmitting party ID are transmitted before any acted information issent.

When receiving the information transmission request output signal 904from the transmission controller 8, the information read controller 5instructs the address generator 2 to generate addresses. Then, theaddress generator 2 generates the block addresses for the blocks and theaddresses for reading information from the memory 1 (A1-AN describedabove) in sequence from the first address, whereby information is readfrom the memory 1. The transmission information generator 6 divides theinformation read from the memory 1 into blocks and adds the synchronoussignal 202, the block address 207, and parity (error correction code)206 required for each block. As the method of dividing the informationinto blocks, a cluster of information (268,000,000×16 bits) read fromthe memory 1 is divided into blocks, each consisting of 65,536 bits, asshown in FIG. 9 and discussed above. Block addresses 0000 to FFFF(hexadecimal representation) are assigned to the information blocks.Further, an error correction code, such as a parity code, is added toeach block to enable error correction for transmitting the information.

The information read controller 5 outputs a memory control signal 911for instructing the address storing memory 3 to store the addressinformation generated by the address generator 2 for rewriting thecurrent address information generated by the address generator 2 intothe address storing memory 3. The address storing memory 3 holds thecurrent generated block address, as shown in FIG. 11. Here, the addressstoring memory 3 holds the first block address because of the firsttransmission request.

When receiving the control signal 909 from the transmission controller8, the information and data insertion and gate circuit 11 first performsthe operation of sending the transmission start signal and transmissioninformation data 210 generated by the transmission start data generator10 to the external machine A 20. Upon completion of sending thetransmission start signal and transmission information data 210, thenthe information and data insertion and gate circuit 11 performs theoperation of sending information converted into transmission informationformat by the P-S converter via the transmission information generator6. FIG. 12 shows a specific example of a block diagram of theinformation and data insertion and gate circuit 11. As shown here, theinformation and data insertion and gate circuit 11 comprises twoswitches 1200 and 1210, which are controlled by a control signal fromthe transmission controller 8 (in this case, the control signal mayconsist of two bits). The switch 1200 is connected to the P-S converter7 and the transmission start data generator 10 for selecting an outputof either one of them. The switch 1210 switches the output of the switch1200 in response to a control signal indicating whether or not theoutput is to be fed to the output circuit at the following stage. Thetransmission controller 8 controls the information and data insertionand gate circuit 11 so as to provide the format as shown in FIG. 2.

The output signal of the information and data insertion and gate circuit11 is transmitted via the output circuit 14, the exchange 23, theinter-exchange transmission line 25, and the exchange 24 to the externalmachine A 20 issuing the information transmission request.

The external machine A stores the received information, then decodes itinto a video signal, audio signal, a game, or the like. The operation ofthe external machine will be discussed below.

Next, one feature of the invention, namely, the operation of theinformation transmission apparatus 100 in response to informationtransmission requests issued from a plurality of external machines willbe explained. In the embodiment, the data transfer time to completion ofinformation transmission for each external machine can be made the sameas a given time conforming to the information amount, namely, theinformation transmission time required when one external machine makesan information transmission request described above.

Assume that another data transmission request is issued from externalmachine B 21 while information is being transmitted to external machineA 20 in response to an information transmission request therefrom.

The information transmission request signal 901 from the externalmachine B 21 is sent via the exchange 24, the transmission line 25, andthe exchange 23 to the information transmission apparatus 100 and isreceived by the reception circuit 17, which then outputs the signal 902to the transmission request reception process controller 9, which thendetects an information transmission request being issued from theexternal machine B 21 and outputs detection result 903 indicatingreception of the information transmission request from the externalmachine B 21 to the transmission controller 8.

The transmission controller 8 stores the detection result 903 of thetransmission request reception process controller 9 in the storagemeans, and also immediately outputs a control signal for startinginformation transmission to the external machine B 21 to the informationand data insertion and gate circuit 12, without disturbing theinformation transmission operation to the external machine A 20, basedon the detection result of the transmission request reception processcontroller 9 and a block information output timing signal of thetransmission information generator 6. The control signal generated bythe transmission controller 8 synchronizes with the block data outputtiming signal of the transmission information generator 6. Based on thecontrol signal, the information and data insertion and gate circuit 12is controlled to start information transmission to the external machineB 21. Further, the transmission controller 8 outputs an informationtransmission request output signal indicating information transmissionrequest reception to the information read controller 5 and thetransmission start data generator 10. When receiving the informationtransmission request output signal from the transmission controller 8,the transmission start data generator 10 outputs the transmission startsignal and transmission information data 210.

By the way, since information is being transmitted to the externalmachine A 20, the transmission information generator 6 divides a clusterof information read from the memory 1 into 65,536 blocks and outputsblock addresses, assigned to block information, in sequence. Therefore,when the information and data insertion and gate circuit 12 switches theoperation from sending the transmission start signal and transmissioninformation data 210 output by the transmission start data generator 10to sending the information stored in the memory 1 output by the P-Sconverter, information transmission to the external machine B 21 isstarted at an intermediate point of the information being transmitted tothe external machine A 20. The operation of the information and datainsertion and gate circuit 12 is switched in synchronization with theblock information output timing signal of the transmission informationgenerator 6 and therefore the information transmitted to the externalmachine B 21 is started at the separation of block addresses. Theoperation will be discussed with reference to FIG. 3, wherein the fieldssuch as the synchronous signal, information, and error correction signalare omitted and only block addresses are shown.

Assume that information divided into blocks is transmitted to theexternal machine A 20, as shown in FIG. 3. When an informationtransmission request is received from the external machine B 21 whilethe block information at block address 005C (hexadecimal representation)is being transmitted to the external machine A 20, the transmissioncontroller 8 outputs a control signal to the information and datainsertion and gate circuit 12 and the information read controller 5 atthe time of block address 005D (hexadecimal representation) as shown inFIG. 3, without disturbing the information transmission operation to theexternal machine A 20, based on the detection result of the transmissionrequest reception process controller 9 and a block information outputtiming signal of the transmission information generator 6.

Based on the control signal, the information and data insertion and gatecircuit 12 is controlled to start information transmission to theexternal machine B 21 by outputting the transmission start signal andtransmission information data 210 generated by the transmission startdata generator 10 to the external machine B 21. Assuming that thetransmission of the transmission start signal and transmissioninformation data 210 to the external machine B 21 is completed while theblock information at block address 005D (hexadecimal representation) isbeing transmitted to the external machine A 20, transmission of theinformation stored in the memory 1 to the external machine B 21 isstarted at block address 005E (hexadecimal representation) by theoperation of the information and data insertion and gate circuit 12.

When receiving the control output signal from the transmissioncontroller 8, the information and data insertion and gate circuit 12performs the operation of transmitting the transmission start signal andtransmission information data 210 generated by the transmission startdata generator 10 to the external machine B 21.

Upon completion of the transmission of the transmission start signal andtransmission information data 210, the information and data insertionand gate circuit 12 performs the operation of transmitting theinformation, converted into transmission information form by thetransmission information generator 6 and the P-S converter 7, to theexternal machine B 21.

When receiving the information transmission request output signal 904from the transmission controller 8, the information read controller 5controls so that the address information generated by the addressgenerator 2 is stored in the address storing memory 3 for writing thecurrent block address generated by the address generator 2 into theaddress storing memory 3. Thus, the block address is rewritten as shownin the address memory register 1110 in FIG. 11. This means that thememory address corresponding to the block address 005E (hexadecimalrepresentation) is stored in the address storing memory 3.

The match detector 4 compares the block address stored in the addressstoring memory 3 with the block address generated by the addressgenerator 2. When they match, the match detector 4 outputs a matchsignal to the information read controller 5, which then outputs acontrol signal 920 to stop the operation of the address generator 2.Since the information transmission request is received from the externalmachine B 21, read of the information from the memory 1 is performeduntil block address FFFF (hexadecimal representation), and theninformation is read from the top block address to address 005E(hexadecimal representation) under the control of the information readcontroller 5. Alternatively, the match detector 4 may compare the blockaddress just preceding the block address stored in the address storingmemory 3 (in the example, 005D) with the block address generated by theaddress generator 2, thereby enabling read of the information up to005D. Transmission of the information to the external machines can beterminated separately upon receipt a reception termination notificationfrom each of the external machines, as described below. Alternatively,the transmission controller 8 in the information transmission apparatusmay hold the top block address of transmission for each external machineand detect the transmission termination to each external machineseparately, in order to terminate the transmission.

By performing the processing as described above, the transmission of theinformation to the external machine A 20 terminates at block addressFFFF and that to the external machine B 21 terminates at address 005D(hexadecimal representation).

Assuming that an information transmission request is received from theexternal machine C 22 in addition to the external machine B 21 while theblock information at block address FF02 (hexadecimal representation) isbeing transmitted, as shown in FIG. 3, similar processing to that of theinformation transmission request received from the external machine B 21is performed. For example, when an information transmission request isreceived from the external machine C 22 while the block information atblock address FF02 (hexadecimal representation) is being transmitted tothe external machines A 20 and B 21, the transmission controller 8outputs a control signal to the information and data insertion and gatecircuit 13 and the information read controller 5 at the time of blockaddress FF03 (hexadecimal representation) as shown in FIG. 3, withoutdisturbing the information transmission operation to the externalmachines A 20 and B 21, based on the detection result of thetransmission request reception process controller 9 and a blockinformation output timing signal of the transmission informationgenerator 6. Based on the control signal, the information and datainsertion and gate circuit 13 is controlled to start informationtransmission to the external machine C 22 by outputting the transmissionstart signal and transmission information data 210 generated by thetransmission start data generator 10 to the external machine C 22.Assuming that the transmission of the transmission start signal andtransmission information data 210 to the external machine C 22 iscompleted while the block information at block address FF03 (hexadecimalrepresentation) is being transmitted to the external machines A 20 and B21, transmission of the information stored in the memory 1 to theexternal machine C 22 is started at block address FF04 (hexadecimalrepresentation) by the operation of the information and data insertionand gate circuit 13. On the other hand, when receiving the controlsignal from the transmission controller 8, the information readcontroller 5 controls so that the address information generated by theaddress generator 2 is stored in the address storing memory 3 forrewriting the memory contents of the address storing memory 3. That is,the memory address corresponding to the block address FF04 (hexadecimalrepresentation) is stored in the address storing memory 3 in place ofblock address 005E (hexadecimal representation) as shown in 1120 in FIG.11. Therefore, when the information transmission request is receivedfrom the external machine C 22 in addition to the informationtransmission request from the external machine B 21, read of theinformation from the memory 1 is performed to block address FF04(hexadecimal representation) instead of the read end block address 005E(hexadecimal representation) for the external machine B 21 describedabove. The transmission of the information to the external machine C 22terminates at block address FF03 (hexadecimal representation).

The output signals of the information and data insertion and gatecircuits 12 and 13 are transmitted via the output circuits 16 and 18,the exchange 23, the inter-exchange transmission line 25, and theexchange 24 to the external machines B 21 and C 22 issuing theinformation transmission requests. The external machines B and C storethe received information, then decodes it into a video signal, audiosignal, a game, or the like.

As described above, when a large number of information transmissionrequests occur for the same information at the same time, a serialoperation, in which information transmission responsive to the firsttransmission request is completed and then information is transmitted inresponse to the second transmission request causes each external machine(the user of the external machine) to wait for the time interval betweenthe instant at which an information transmission request is issued andthe instant at which information transmission is started. The wait timedepends on the number of machines requesting information transmission,thus the time interval becomes nonscheduled. Thus, the time intervalbetween the instant at which an information transmission request isissued and the instant at which information reception is completedvaries from time to time. It is difficult to estimate the required time.According to the embodiment, the time required from issuing aninformation transmission request to completion of information receptiondepends on the information transmission amount and does not depend onthe number of machines making information transmission requests.Therefore, the embodiment is characterized by the fact that if the userwaits for a given time determined by the transmission informationamount, he or she can be assured of receiving the requested information,and enjoy remarkably improved operability.

Next, the operation of the external machine will be discussed withreference to FIGS. 2 and 4. The external machine receives information inthe format shown in FIG. 2, transmitted from the informationtransmission apparatus in response to an information transmissionrequest signal issued from the output terminal 38, through the inputterminal 37 and stores the received information in the buffer 30. Then,the received information reproducer 29 performs clock reproduction, dataidentification, error correction, etc., for the received information inorder to reproduce the information in the format as shown in FIG. 2.Further, the received information reproducer 29 separates the blockaddresses 207, the information 208, and the transmission informationdata 210 from the reproduced information. Then, the received informationreproducer 29 outputs the block addresses 207 to the address generator28, the information 208 to the record data generator 32, and thetransmission information data 210 and the top block address 207 to thedata detector 33. The data detector 33 decodes the transmissioninformation data and outputs the information data items such as thetransmission information name 203, the transmission information amount204, and the transmitting party ID 205 and the top block address 207 tothe record controller 36. The record controller 36 stores thetransmission information amount 204 and the top block address 207, andretrieves an information recording area on the magneto-optic media 41corresponding to the transmission information amount 204 at the freearea retrieval circuit 35 for finding start address information at whichthe information can be recorded. The address generator 28 generatesrecord addresses of the received information in sequence, based on thestart address information provided by the record controller 36, and theblock addresses from the received information reproducer 29.

FIG. 5 shows the order of block addresses generated by the addressgenerator 28. For example, when the information whose transmission isrequested is information A discussed above, the transmission informationamount is 268,000,000×16 bits and the information is transmitted asblock information divided into 65,536 blocks having block addresses 0000to FFFF (hexadecimal representation). At this time, assume that theinformation is transmitted starting at block address 005E (hexadecimalrepresentation). Also, assume that the start address information of thefree area on the magneto-optic media 41 where the information can berecorded indicates 000FF (hexadecimal representation). From the topblock address 005E (hexadecimal representation) and the start address000FF (hexadecimal representation) on the magneto-optic media 41 wherethe information can be recorded, the address generator 28 generatesrecord start address 0015D (hexadecimal representation) which is the005Eth address counted from address 000FF for recording the receivedinformation on the magneto-optic media 41, and generates subsequentaddresses up to record address 0FFFE (hexadecimal representation) on themagneto-optic media corresponding to block address FFFF (hexadecimalrepresentation) in sequence. After this, the information at blockaddresses 0000 (hexadecimal representation) to 005D (hexadecimalrepresentation) is received. Then, the address generator 28 generatesrecord addresses 000FF (hexadecimal representation) to 0015C(hexadecimal representation) on the magneto-optic media accordingly.Therefore, the information is recorded on the magneto-optic media in theorder as shown in FIG. 5 based on the output of the address generator.

The optical pickup controller 27 operates according to the addressesgenerated by the address generator 28 for moving the optical pickup 43to the record locations of the magneto-optic media 41. In addition, theoptical pickup controller 27 is controlled as instructed from the recordcontroller 36 for setting a semiconductor laser of the optical pickup 43into oscillation.

On the other hand, the information 208 separated from the receivedinformation by the received information reproducer 29 is input to therecord data generator 32, and a modulation magnetic field is generated,in response to the information 208, by means of the magnetic head 26.The magnetic head controller 46 operates according to the addressesgenerated by the address generator 28 to move the magnetic head 26 tothe record locations of the magneto-optic media 41, as with the opticalpickup 43.

The information 208 is recorded on the magneto-optic media 41 by heatingon the magneto-optic media 41 by semiconductor laser oscillation of theoptical pickup 43 and a modulation magnetic field generated by themagnetic head 26. Thus, the information 208 transmitted from theinformation transmission apparatus in response to the data transmissionrequest is recorded on the optical disk.

The record controller 36 compares the stored top block address 207 witheach block address sent in sequence, and when the block address matchesthe block address just before the top block address 207, judges that allthe information has been received from the information transmissionapparatus as requested, and stops the recording operation. Thecomparison result between the information amount recorded on the recordmedia and the transmission information amount 204 stored in the recordcontroller 36 may be added to the judgment of the data receptioncompletion. Further, the record controller 36 informs the informationtransmitting party of the information reception completion via the datatransmission request signal generator 31. In this case, the receptiontermination bit 804 in FIG. 8 is set and sent to the informationtransmitting party. When receiving the information reception completioninformation, the information transmitting party operates so as toterminate the information transmission.

As described above, the invention is characterized by the fact that arecord area is reserved in the information reception apparatus based onthe transmission information data such as the transmission informationamount 204 transferred at the beginning of information transmission, andthen the block addresses transmitted with the information 208 by theinformation transmission apparatus are used to record the information208 in order starting at an intermediate point in the record area.

In the embodiment, the information recorder using the magneto-opticrecord media is used as an example in the description, but it is alsoapplicable to any other recorder such as a magnetic tape recorder, asemiconductor memory, or a hard disk unit.

The information recording method and apparatus and the informationtransmission method and apparatus can make up an informationtransmission/reception system. Thus, at the receiving party, the timerequired from issuing an information transmission request to completionof information reception depends on the information transmission amountand does not depend on the number of machines making informationtransmission requests. Therefore, the system of the invention ischaracterized by the fact that if the user waits for a given timedetermined by the transmission information amount, he or she can beassured of receiving the requested information, and can enjoy remarkablyimproved operability.

Next, a second embodiment of a data transmission apparatus will bediscussed with reference to a block diagram shown in FIG. 6. Componentsidentical with those previously described with reference to FIG. 1 aredenoted by the same reference numerals in FIG. 6 and will not bediscussed again. In the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, thetransmission start data generator 10, which generates the transmissionstart signal and transmission information data 210, etc., added wheninformation, is transmitted is shared by the information and datainsertion and gate circuits 11 to 13. However, in the second embodimentshown in FIG. 6, transmission start data generators 47, 48, and 49 areprovided for each of information and data insertion and gate circuits11, 12, and 13 respectively.

In FIG. 6, numerals 47 to 49 are transmission start data generators,each of which generates the transmission start signal and transmissioninformation data 210 added when information is transmitted in responseto a data transmission signal received from a transmission controller 8.

The information transmission apparatus of the second embodiment canresolve queuing of requests for generating the transmission start signaland transmission information data 210, etc., added when information istransmitted when information transmission requests are received fromexternal machines at the same time, if the transmission apparatus is alarge-scaled one or when the information transmission capability toexternal machines is enhanced, that is, when information and datainsertion and gate circuits and output circuits for transmittinginformation are increased. If a memory 1 stores information havingdifferent titles, for example, it stores movie information A, movieinformation B, and movie information C, the transmission start datagenerators can be set corresponding to the stored information entries.For example, the transmission start data corresponding to movieinformation A can be generated by the transmission start data generator47, the data corresponding to movie information B by the transmissionstart data generator 48, and the data corresponding to movie informationC by the transmission start data generator 49. Thus, to change some ofthe transmission information, for example, to change movie information Bto movie information D, it can be executed without affecting other datatransmission circuits. In this case, as many address storing memories asthe number of titles of stored information are required, and a pluralityof read circuits for the memory 1 can also be provided.

Next, a third embodiment of data transmission apparatus will bediscussed with reference to a block diagram shown in FIG. 7. Componentsidentical with those previously described with reference to FIG. 1 aredenoted by the same reference numerals in FIG. 7 and will not bediscussed again.

In FIG. 7, numeral 50 is a memory read controller which has a functionof counting a given time corresponding to the information read time fromthe memory 1--depending on the information amount of the information tobe read--based on the address generation operation for reading theinformation from the memory 1, and an information transmission requestoutput signal from a transmission controller 8, and has a function ofcontrolling stopping of the address generation operation by the countoperation. In the first embodiment, when receiving a control signal fromthe transmission controller 8, the information read controller 5controls storing of the address information generated by the addressgenerator 2 in the address storing memory 3 for rewriting the currentaddress information into the address storing memory 3. Then, the matchdetector 4 compares the address stored in the address storing memory 3with each address generated by the address generator 2. When they match,the match detector 4 outputs a match signal to the information readcontroller 5, which then outputs a control signal for stopping theoperation of the address generator 2. In the third embodiment shown inFIG. 7, the memory read controller 50 counts a given time correspondingto the information read time from the memory 1 based on the addressgeneration operation for reading the information from the memory 1 andan information transmission request output signal from the transmissioncontroller 8, and controls stopping of the address generation operationby the count operation. This configuration eliminates the need for theaddress storing memory 3 and the match detector 4 in the precedingembodiments.

As described above, the information reception method and apparatus andthe information transmission method and apparatus of the invention canprovide an information transmission/reception system. If informationtransmission requests are received from a number of machines atsubstantially the same time, the time required for completion ofinformation reception at each machine depends on the informationtransmission amount. Conventional serial operation in which informationis transmitted to the machines in sequence would mean that each externalmachine (the user of the external machine) has to wait for the timeinterval between the instant at which an information transmissionrequest is issued and the instant at which information transmission isstarted. The wait time depends on the number of machines requestinginformation transmission, thus the time interval becomes nonscheduled.In contrast, the information transmission/reception system of theinvention can complete the data reception at each reception machine fora given time independently of the number of reception machines issuingtransmission requests. Therefore, if the user waits for a given timedetermined by the transmission information amount, he or she can beassured of receiving the requested information, and can enjoy remarkablyimproved operability.

According to the invention, there can be provided an informationtransmission/reception system which can receive a plurality oftransmission requests and transmit information to the requesters so thatit can be recorded in the requesting devices. There can also be providedan information transmission apparatus and information receptionapparatuses in the information transmission/reception system.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information reception apparatus comprising:atransmission means for transmitting an information transmission requestto an information transmission apparatus which transmits transmissioninformation indicated at transmission information addresses from A toA+E(0<E and A+E>1); a reception means for receiving the transmissioninformation transmitted from said transmission information apparatus;and, a recording means for recording the transmission informationreceived by said reception means on a record medium;wherein saidrecording means starts recording in response to reception of thetransmission information by said reception means according to theinformation transmission request transmitted from said transmissionmeans, and when recording of the transmission information starts from atransmission information address A+N(0<N<=E and A+N>1), the transmissioninformation indicated at the transmission information addresses from A+Nto A+E is recorded and then sequentially, the transmission informationindicated at the transmission information addresses from A to A+N-1 isrecorded on said record medium.
 2. An information reception apparatus asdefined in claim 1, wherein said recording means records thetransmission information indicated at the transmission informationaddresses from A+N to A+E and then sequentially, the transmissioninformation indicated at the transmission information addresses from Ato A+N-1 on said record medium, based on the transmission informationaddresses, said transmission information addresses being added to thetransmission information transmitted from said transmission informationapparatus.
 3. An information reception apparatus as defined in claim 2,wherein said transmission means transmits a transmission ending signalin response to completion of recording of the transmission informationindicated at the transmission information addresses from A+N to A+E andfrom A+N-1 on said record medium by said recording means.
 4. Aninformation reception apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein saidrecording means records the transmission information indicated at thetransmission information addresses from A+N to A+E and thensequentially, the transmission information indicated at the transmissioninformation addresses from A to A+N-1 on said record medium, based on atotal amount information indicating a total information amount of thetransmission information indicated at the transmission informationaddresses from A to A+E, said total amount information being added tothe transmission information transmitted from said transmissioninformation apparatus.
 5. An information reception apparatus as definedin claim 4, wherein said transmission means transmits a transmissionending signal in response to completion of recording of the transmissioninformation indicated at the transmission information addresses from A+Nto A+E and from A to A+N-1 on said record medium by said recordingmeans.
 6. An information reception apparatus as defined in claim 1,wherein said recording means reserves a record area on said recordmedium based on a total information amount of the information to bereceived, and specifies record addresses of the record area based on thetransmission information address.
 7. An information reception apparatusas defined in claim 1, wherein said recording means comprising:arecordable area detecting means for detecting a recordable area on saidrecord medium based on a total amount information indicating a totalinformation amount of the transmission information indicated at thetransmission information addresses from A to A+E, said total amountinformation being added to the transmission information transmitted fromsaid transmission information apparatus; an address generating means forgenerating addresses on said record medium from an address correspondingto the transmission information address A+N to an address correspondingto the transmission information address A+N-1 sequentially, based on therecordable area detected by said recordable area detecting means; arecording control means for controlling recording of the transmissioninformation at the address on said record medium corresponding to thetransmission information address added the transmission information. 8.An information reception apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein theinformation transmission request transmitted from said transmissionmeans contains a transmission request number indicating contents of thetransmission request, information indicating a reception party of thetransmission information and information indicating payment method ofthe transmission information received by said reception means.
 9. Aninformation reception apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein theinformation transmission received by said reception means containspicture information such as a movie.
 10. An information receptionapparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the information transmissionreceived by said reception means contains audio information such aspopular or classic music.
 11. The information reception apparatus asdefined in claim 1, wherein A to A+E(0<E and A+E>1) is at least thetransmission information address range of 0000-FFFF, with A+E beingFFFF.
 12. The information reception apparatus as defined in claim 1,wherein A+N(0<N<+E and A+N>1) is the transmission start address 005E.13. The information reception apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein Ato A+N-1 is the information transmission addresses 0000 to 005D.
 14. Aninformation reception apparatus comprising:a transmission means fortransmitting an information transmission request to an informationtransmission apparatus which transmits transmission informationindicated at transmission information addresses from A to A+E(0<E andA+E>1) sequentially and repeatedly; a reception means for receiving thetransmission information transmitted from said transmission informationapparatus; and a recording means for recording the transmissioninformation received by said reception means on a record medium;whereinsaid recording means starts recording in response to reception of thetransmission information by said recording means according to theinformation transmission request transmitted from said transmissionmeans, and when recording of the transmission information starts from atransmission information address A+N(0<N<=E and A+N>1), the transmissioninformation indicated at the transmission information addresses from A+Nto A+E is recorded first and then sequentially, the transmissioninformation indicated at the transmission information addresses from Ato A+N-1 is recorded on said record medium.
 15. An information receptionapparatus as defined in claim 14, wherein said recording meanscomprising:a recordable area detecting means for detecting a recordablearea on said record medium based on a total amount informationindicating a total information amount of the transmission informationindicated at the transmission information addresses from A to A+E, saidtotal amount information being added to the transmission informationtransmitted from said transmission information apparatus, an addressgenerating means for generating addresses on said record medium from anaddress corresponding to the transmission information address A+N to anaddress corresponding to the transmission information address A+N-1sequentially, based on the recordable area detected by said recordablearea detecting means; a recording control means for controllingrecording of the transmission information at the address on said recordmedium corresponding to the transmission information address added tothe transmission information.
 16. An information reception apparatuscomprising:a transmission circuit which transmits an informationtransmission request to an information transmission apparatus whichtransmits transmission information indicated at transmission informationaddresses from A to A+E(0<E and A+E>1); a reception circuit whichreceives the transmission information transmitted from said transmissioninformation apparatus; and, a record controller which records thetransmission information received by said reception circuit on a recordmedium;wherein said record controller starts recording in response toreception of the transmission information by said reception circuitaccording to the information transmission request transmitted from saidtransmission circuit, and when recording of the transmission informationstarts from a transmission information address A+N(0<N<=E and A+N>1),the transmission information indicated at the transmission informationaddresses from A+N to A+E is recorded and then sequentially, thetransmission information indicated at the transmission informationaddresses from A to A+N-1 is recorded on said record medium.
 17. Aninformation reception apparatus as defined in claim 16, wherein saidrecord controller records the transmission information indicated at thetransmission information addresses from A+N to A+E and thensequentially, the transmission information indicated at the transmissioninformation addresses from A to A+N-1 on said record medium, based onthe transmission information addresses, said transmission informationaddresses being added to the transmission information transmitted fromsaid transmission information apparatus.
 18. An information receptionapparatus as defined in claim 17, wherein said transmission circuittransmits a transmission ending signal in response to completion ofrecording of the transmission information indicated at the transmissioninformation addresses from A+N to A+E and from A+N-1 on said recordmedium by said record controller.
 19. An information reception apparatusas defined in claim 16, wherein said record controller records thetransmission information indicated at the transmission informationaddresses from A+N to A+E and then sequentially, the transmissioninformation indicated at the transmission information addresses from Ato A+N-1 on said record medium, based on a total amount informationindicating a total information amount of the transmission informationindicated at the transmission information addresses from A to A+E, saidtotal amount information being added to the transmission informationtransmitted from said transmission information apparatus.
 20. Aninformation reception apparatus as defined in claim 17, wherein saidtransmission circuit transmits a transmission ending signal in responseto completion of recording of the transmission information indicated atthe transmission information addresses from A+N to A+E and from A toA+N-1 on said record medium by said recording means.
 21. An informationreception apparatus as defined in claim 16, wherein said recordcontroller reserves a record area on said record medium based on a totalinformation amount of the information to be received, and specifiesrecord addresses of the record area based on the transmissioninformation address.
 22. An information reception apparatus as definedin claim 16, wherein said record controller comprising:a recordable areadetector which detects a recordable area on said record medium based ona total amount information indicating a total information amount of thetransmission information indicated at the transmission informationaddresses from A to A+E, said total amount information being added tothe transmission information transmitted from said transmissioninformation apparatus; an address generator which generates addresses onsaid record medium from an address corresponding to the transmissioninformation address A+N to an address corresponding to the transmissioninformation address A+N-1 sequentially, based on the recordable areadetected by said recordable area detector; a controller which controlsrecording of the transmission information at the address on said recordmedium corresponding to the transmission information address added thetransmission information.
 23. An information reception apparatus asdefined in claim 16, wherein the information transmission requesttransmitted from said transmission circuit contains a transmissionrequest number indicating contents of the transmission request,information indicating a reception party of the transmission informationand information indicating payment method of the transmissioninformation received by said reception means.
 24. An informationreception apparatus as defined in claim 16, wherein the informationtransmission received by said reception circuit contains pictureinformation such as a movie.
 25. An information reception apparatus asdefined in claim 16, wherein the information transmission received bysaid reception circuit contains audio information such as popular orclassic music.
 26. The information reception apparatus as claimed inclaim 25 wherein said control means reserves a record area on saidrecord media based on a total information amount of the information tobe received and specifies record addresses of the record area based onthe address information.
 27. An information reception apparatuscomprising:a transmission circuit which transmits an informationtransmission request to an information transmission apparatus whichtransmits transmission information indicated at transmission informationaddresses from A to A+E(0<E and A+E>1) sequentially and repeatedly; areception circuit which receives the transmission informationtransmitted from said transmission information apparatus; and a recordcontroller which records the transmission information received by saidreception means on a record medium;wherein said record controller startsrecording in response to reception of the transmission information bysaid record controller according to the information transmission requesttransmitted from said transmission circuit, and when recording of thetransmission information starts from a transmission information addressA+N(0<N<=E and A+N>1), the transmission information indicated at thetransmission information addresses from A+N to A+E is recorded first andthen sequentially, the transmission information indicated at thetransmission information addresses from A to A+N-1 is recorded on saidrecord medium.
 28. An information reception apparatus as defined inclaim 27, wherein said record controller comprises:a recordable areadetector which detects a recordable area on said record medium based ona total amount information indicating a total information amount of thetransmission information indicated at the transmission informationaddresses from A to A+E, said total amount information being added tothe transmission information transmitted from said transmissioninformation apparatus; an address generator which generates addresses onsaid record medium from an address corresponding to the transmissioninformation address A+N to an address corresponding to the transmissioninformation address A+N-1 sequentially, based on the recordable areadetected by said recordable area detector; a controller which controlsrecording of the transmission information at the address on said recordmedium corresponding to the transmission information address added tothe transmission information.
 29. An information reception apparatuscomprising:a transmission means for transmitting an informationtransmission request to an information transmission apparatus whichtransmits information to which address information is added; a receptionmeans for receiving said transmission information transmitted from theinformation transmission apparatus; a record media for recording saidtransmission information; a registering means for registering saidtransmission information received by said reception means at addressesindicated by the address information added to said transmissioninformation on said record media; and, an address management means ofsaid information transmission apparatus for generating said addressesindicated by said information in such a manner that said addresses aresequentially generated from a top address to an end address of saidinformation corresponding to said information transmission request andsuch a sequential address generation is repeated until an instructionfor terminating the specification of said address is issued.
 30. Theinformation reception apparatus as claimed in claim 29 furthercomprising:detection means for detecting the reception termination ofthe information based on the address information, and wherein;saidtransmission means sends a notification of the information receptiontermination to the information transmitting party upon detection of thereception termination of the information.
 31. The information receptionapparatus as claimed in claim 29 wherein said control means detects thereception termination of the information based on a total informationamount of the information to be received instead of the addressinformation.